Smart Financial Steps from the $425 Million Powerball Lottery Winner

The winner of the Powerball lottery stepped forward to claim his $425 million prize he won against the odds, but he didn’t do it in the way that many who win the jackpot do. In fact, he did it exactly the way all those who win the lottery should. If you ever find yourself in the lucky situation of winning a huge amount of money, take some notes from B. Raymond Buxton. The steps he took after winning the lottery give him a good chance of keeping his new-found fortune long-term, and not becoming one of the many winners that later have to file for bankruptcy. Here are some of the smart steps that he took.

He Kept It to Himself

Upon realizing that he had won, he didn’t go around telling everyone he knew that he had just won the lottery. In fact, even though he comes from a large family, he kept the news to himself. Instead of the letting the event control his life, he immediately took control of things so that he could control, as much as possible, the event by not letting others make the decisions for him and dictating what he should do. By keeping the news to himself at the beginning, he could control when to tell everyone and how the news spread.

He Took His Time

B. Raymond Buxton didn’t reveal himself immediately upon winning the lottery as so many winners do. He didn’t even reveal himself after the first week. Or the first month. When a person doesn’t reveal himself immediately, there is always speculation that the winner doesn’t even know that he won when the truth is, a person that takes their time to think through their new found fortune has a lot better chance of retaining that fortune over their life. Instead of immediately revealing himself, he took his time to get things in order before he came forward. This is a smart financial move that anyone who wins the lottery should do.

He Hired Himself an Attorney

He took the advice on the California Lottery’s website to find both legal and financial representation. Instead of trying to figure out everything on his own, he went out and hired an attorney to represent him and give him legal advice on his new-found fortune. He took advice, and from that he decided what he felt was the best course of action for using the money. He now has a San Francisco law firm which will help him with the task of handling bank accounts, taxes and help him establish a charity that he wants to create to support pediatric health, child hunger and child education.

He Hired a Public Relations Firm

Instead of getting paraded around to the news media and having to face the cameras all by himself, he hired a public relations firm to do all the talking for him. He’s managed to keep himself out of the limelight as much as possible. It was the public relations firm representatives who gave quotes to the press and relayed his statement to the hungry reporters.

Although he was required to take a photo with the check he won, it didn’t mean that he had to show the world his face so that everyone would instantly recognize him. Instead, he deftly put the huge check in front of his face to obscure what he looks like to the world. This was likely another plan to keep himself out of the limelight and let the public relations firm handle the press.

He Wants to Live a Normal Life

This is a huge one. He didn’t announce that he’s going to completely change his lifestyle by purchasing new cars and houses. He didn’t announce that he would like to move to Beverly Hills and begin hanging out with the rich and famous. He took the time to figure out how he would best like to spend the money and decided that it was by spending more time with family and friends, and start a charity. He also announced that he would like to live “a normal and discreet life.” From the sound of it, his life will change very little from how he was currently living, but instead focus on those things that he has enjoyed the most up to this point.

When B. Raymond Buxton came forward wearing a Yoda T-shirt reading “Luck of the Jedi I have” on April 1, he claimed his lottery win with a bit of humor. He also took smart financial steps before the announcement that every lottery winner should take.

2 Responses to Smart Financial Steps from the $425 Million Powerball Lottery Winner

It’s always good to see that someone with at least some financial sense as a winner. This really could be life changing and do a lot of good with proper investing, and the fact that he is setting up a charitable organization is a great sign.

It is sad that so many winners are broke and bankrupt within a few years so I hope all goes well for him. Those that are poor before winning don’t generally have the skills to handle that kind of money on their own, I suspect, and soon find that it is gone. Especially if they only win a million or two. That still sounds to many ears like a huge amount of money, but after taxes you have enough for a new car and a new mini McMansion (average cost $250-500K a few treats and gifts for the family and it is gone and they can’t even afford the property taxes on their new home.